At only 16 years old, artist and songwriter AVIV is taking the music world by storm. The Toronto based talent just released her debut album DROWNING IN THE CULTURE, and we have it playing on repeat.
BTS: What should we know about your debut album?
AVIV: DROWNING IN THE CULTURE is an 8 track album. We made it in Liam Kevany’s apartment – he’s like an older brother to me and we write a lot together. The title is also the name of one of my songs. I was in LA at the time and couldn’t write anything I liked. I felt like I needed to make a song everyone would love- not too poppy, but not too creative; not too basic, but not too underground. I didn’t want to feel like an imposter and needed to figure out what was really me. Eventually, I stepped into authenticity and created what I felt like creating – I fell in love with this process.
BTS: What’s your favorite song on the album?
AVIV: The first single I released off the album, “You Feel Like Depression”. Writing it with Liam felt like a therapy session. We went back and forth and realized we went through a similar relationship thing. Blame is such a prominent factor; sometimes we don’t feel worthy of love because the other person makes us feel like we don’t deserve it. Originally, the song was all acoustic – but love can be depressing and sad and scary so we wanted the song to capture that emotion of anger. Ryan Lewis produced it. The song is a little all over the place, but so am I.
BTS: How would you describe your sound overall?
AVIV: I’m exploring pop indie and darker music that has edge. It changes as I learn what I want to release; it’s a crazy ride of experimenting.
BTS: How has your life influenced your music this far?
AVIV: I grew up in a big family; there’s 5 of us. We all do art in some form. My brother is 6 years older than me and plays guitar – he introduced me to the world of music. My parents made me play piano, same with guitar. Living in Toronto has also influenced my music.
BTS: Who are your favorite artists?
AVIV: I really love Radiohead, Elliot Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Joni Mitchell, Kurt Cobain. I guess I should throw in some more current artists, too… Definitely Lorde and Lana Del Rey!
BTS: What is your favorite part about being an artist?
AVIV: Having an outlet that other people can listen to. Maybe my music will answer some questions in their lives – if I can do that for at least one person, it’d be the sickest thing.
BTS: What are you most excited for in the future?
AVIV: Well, I’m about to go on tour with Imagine Dragons. I’ve actually never played a show before so I’m super excited to open for them!
BTS: What final message do you want to send to fans and listeners?
AVIV: Music keeps us together. It’s crazy how we can share and relate to so many things – we’re not alone.
We can’t wait to watch AVIV flourish in the music world – she is a natural born rockstar.
Stream DROWNING IN THE CULTURE here!
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